Propel pencil



Aug. 1924.

' w M. sAUNDERs PROPEL PENCIL Filed May 12 l 1921 www Q Patented Aug.. 5, i924.

WILLIAM M. SAUNDERS, OF WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE HOGE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, F NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK.

PROPEL Application led' May 12,

To au whom t may cof/wcm:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM M. SAUN- DERs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Waterbury, county of New Haven, State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Propel Pencils, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. y

My invention relates to propel pencils and has for its object to provide a propel pencil in which new and improved means are employed for firmly centering the lower portion of the lead and holding it from turning. It further has for its object to'provide a new and improved propel pencil which shall be more easy to assemble. It further has for its object to provide a propel pencil in which these propel parts constitute a unitary structure held within the 'body' portion of the outer shell or casing by means engaging said body portion below the spiral lwithoutthe use of solder or the crimping of a portion of the casing. It further has for its object to provide a propel pencil having a one-piece combined follower-carrier and magazine and a spiral propel spring surrounding the same, and removable and insertable therewith. It further has for its object to provide a friction drag for the carrier which results in a more uniform action in operation.

The following is a description of an embodiment of my invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in,

which:

Fig. 1 shows a side elevation of the parts within the casing and the casing in section; Fig. 2 is a section of Fig. 1 on the line 2 2, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail side elevation of the combined follower-carrier and magazine;

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the combined .carrier and follower of Fig. 3

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5 5, Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6 6, Fig. 1; Fig. 7 is a section on the line 7 7, Fig. 1; Eig. 8 is a section on the line 8 8, Fig, 1; an Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9 9, Fig. 1; Fig. 10 is a detail section of the point of the pencil on a line at right angles to the section of Fig. 2.

Referring more. particularly to the drawings, y1 is the body portion of the shell or PENCIL.

1921. Serial No. 468,806.

casing of my pencil, the end portion comprising a tip 2 having a screw-threaded pro-4 jection 3 screwing into the lower end of a bushing member 4, which in turn is screwthreaded at 5 into a bushing member 6. Said bushing members 4 and 6 constitute the lower bushing of my pencil. When the lbushing member 4 is screwed home into the bushing member 6, a chamber is left which is partially filled by a loosely fitting ring 7. 8 is a combined carrier-follower and magazine formed of a tube having a re-entrant side as shown at 9, Fig. 4, in which fits a follower 10 having a projecting end 11 which makes engagement with a spiral 12. The lower end of this comb-ined carrier and magazine is provided with a flange 13 which lies below the ring 7 in the chamber between the parts 4 and 6, the fit of this flange and the fit of the lower end 14 of the combined carrier and magazine within the member 6 being such that the combined carrier and magazine turn easily relatively to the lower bushing made up of the parts 4 and 6. The part 6 makes a snug fit with the parallel walls of athe body portion 1 so that when it is in place it is definitely centered, together with the lower end of the combined carrier and magazine. The upper end of the combined carrier and magazine rotates easily in an upper ybushing 15 which surrounds the magazine and carrier and makes a frictional engagement with the casing but only sufficient to be held against turning when the comb-ined carrier and magazine is turned so as to cause the follower to be retracted by its engagement with the spiral 12. The spiral 12 comprises a spring which is prevented from turning clockwise by reason of its lower end engaging a shoulder 16 on the bushing memberr and from turning "counter-clockwise by reason of the engagement of its upper end with a shoulder 17 on the upper bushing 15.

Surrounding the upper end of the combined carrier and magazine is a sleeve 18 which is soldered toI the combined carrier and magazinebut is free to turn easily within the shell. The upper bushing 15 is held against this sleeve 18 by the action of the spring 12.

The spring 12 is slightly compressed between the bushing member 6 and the upper bushing 15. This tends to move t/he carrier and magazine upward relatively to the member 6 and holds the flange 13 in frictional engagement with the ring 7, thus producing a'constant drag upon the combined carrier and magazine, which produces a uniform turning action in all pencils in which the tension of the spring 12 is unil' form. Substantial uniformity of tension in the spring 12 in all pencils is easily attained in commercial manufacture so that all the pencils can be made to have substantially the same drag.

In the upper end of the sleeve 18 is screwed an eraser holder 19 having a reduced screw-threaded end 2O. 21 is the eraser. 22 is a cap which extends over the eraser and makes engagement with the sleeve 18. The sleeve is provided with lateral projections 23 which engage recesses in embossed portions 24 of the cap so as to prevent the cap from turning relatively to the sleeve 18.

The tip 2 has a shoulder 25 which engages the lower end of the shell body portion 1. This lower end is tapered as shown at 26 and the lower end of the bushing member 4 is also tapered to make internal engagement therewith at 27. When the tip 2 is screwed home in the bushing member 4, the shoulder 25 engaging the lower end of the body member of the casing draws the tapered portion of the member 4 into binding engagement at the point 26 and positively holds all of the propel parts within the shell. Prior to screwing the tip in v position its screw-thread may be covered with some shellac so as to cement it firmly in place. I

The chamber in the magazine embraces the axis of the follower l0 as shown in Flg. 4 and when the eraser holder 19 is removed the upper end of the chamber of the magazine is open so that leads can be inserted and removed. The lower end of the magazine chamber is closed by the upper end of the bushing member 4 which enters the outer shell of the magazine chamber and extends upward through the bushing member 6. In order to close the upper end of the channel constituting the followercarrierI I provide a plug 28 which is soldered therein.

In order to properly center the lead and prevent it from falling outward, I provide a clutch 29 whose upper end is centered in the bore of the member 4. This clutch has normally vclosed spring jaws 30 tapered at thelr lower ends and normally in close relation to a tapered surface 31 so as to be near the point of the pencil. It is forced downward by a spring 32 engaging the upper end of a cavity in the bushing member 4 and the flange 33 on the clutch. This clutch member 29 has a shoulder 35, which, when the clutch member is in its lowermost position, engages the conical seat 36, which' engagement centers the clutch member at that point and thus steadies the clutch jaws 30 and the lead therein, holding them in a central position. The chamber surrounding the jaws 30 is large enough to permit the jaws to yield very slight-lj7 so as to permit a lead to be inserted therein. The clearance between the jaws 30 and the surface 31 is very slight, but preferably some clearance is present so that the centering effect is produced at the seat 36. I prefer to locate the conical centering seat at the position 36 as shown instead of at the position 31, since the engagement with the seat 36 holds the jaws away from the surface 31, thus preventing the jaws from being forced together by the action of the spring 32 and the action of the follower, which forcing would be liable to make the jaws bite into the lead so as to crush it, and furthermore the centering seat and the portion of the clutch engaging therewith can then be made of larger dimensions and more easily formed with the required accuracy. The position of the centering seat can, however, be varied so long as it secures the centering of the lower end of the clutch without causingthe crushing of the lead. The angle of the seat 36 is quite obtuse so as to secure considerable centering action with very little longitudinal movement. The clutch holds the lead 34 frictionally so that it can be moved in either direction, i. e., it can be propelled by the follower 10, or, when the follower is retracted, can be pushed back by pressure applied to the outer end. This clutch not only holds the lead firmly so as to steady it, but prevents it from turning. The conical seat 36 is for centering purposes and the jaws 30 grip the lead sufficiently irrespective of the action of the spring 32. The friction on'the clutch 29, due toits engagement with the seat v36 and spring 32, prevents it and thereby the lead therein from turning.

In assembling the pencil, the ring 7 and bushing member 6 are threaded upon Vthe combined follower and carrier and thereafter the spiral 12-and bushing 15 are placed thereon. The bushing 18 is then placed in position and soldered in place, together with the plug 28. The second bushing member 4 is then screwed into place. These parts'as a unit are then introduced into the casing. After this the clutch member 29 and spring 32 are inserted and the tip 2 screwed in place so as to hold the lower bushing firmly in position, whereupon the pencil is complete except for the addition of the eraser holderA 19 and cap 22. The tip 2 can be removed by unscrewing the same without injury to the metallic parts, the shellac, if present, being softened by the application of heat, or being broken if suftive of said seat, a bushing Within said casa shell having a body portion internally ta- 10 ing for guidingthe upper end of said clutch, pered at its lower end, with a propel mechaand a spring acting to hold said clutch nor- "nsm' insertable as a unit into said shell and mally in engagement with said seat so as to provided at' its lower end with a bushing, a

5 center the lower end of said clutch, said tatip engaging the lower end of said body pered point having a screw-thread engageportion and making screw-threaded engage- 15 ment with said bushing and holdingy said ment with said bushing so as to hold said sprinfr and clutch in place. propel mechanism, Within said shell.

9. n a propel pencil, the combination of WILLIAM M. SAUNDERS. 

